ASMSG Scifi Fantasy Paranormal Emagazine March 2014 | Page 14

Doing whatever you want to do is a sign
of a lazy writer. That does not mean
you have to spend half your book
describing the science behind the
events/object in your book. That is also
the sign of a lazy writer.

Solution : Establish rules for your
science and follow them. Even in the
purest fantasy, you need to logic and
rationality behind your writing. You
don’t have to get a Doctorate in
astrophysics; however, you do need to
know the mechanics of the science in
your story, at least at a layman’s leve.
4. “BECAUSE ITS SF, THEY
ALWAYS
THINK
THAT
SOMEHOW OR OTHER THE
‘FATE OF THE WORLD’ HAS TO
BE AT STAKE.”
Straczinksy goes on to say “If you’re
doing a drama, no one suggests that
solving the relationship problems or the
murder has to save the world, but they
feel that it has to be that way if you’re
writing SF, which is why it’s also so
often the rule in SF movies. It’s
absolutely crazy-making. 2001, one of
the most classic SF motion pictures of
all time, could never get made today.
Not a chance.”
I’ll admit, I’m very guilty of this in my
own writing. Back in high school, when
we read Death of a Salesman, my
English teacher told me it was kind of
revolutionary. Most tragedies, she said,
were about important men: world
leaders, kings, presidents. Who cares
about the little people?

Solution: That doesn’t mean you have
to blow things up every five minutes
(I’m looking at you, Michael Bay) but
you need events. You need drama. You
need love and lose, humor and – yes –
even sexuality. Even if you are writing
about microscopic organisms on Mars,
your readers are still human. Write
things that humans care about.
CONCLUSION
Here’s how J. Michael Straczysnki’s
words of wisdom to the critics of
science fiction:
“I keep waiting for a paradigm shift to

happen that will let network and studio
execs see that SF is the same as any
other genre in terms of how you
approach it – logically, character based,
with challenging ideas and forward
thinking – but I worry that it might
never happen in my lifetime.”
You’ll notice I’ve said nothing about
how to convince other people to take
science fiction serious. There’s a reason.
The only thing you can control is
yourself and your actions. Forget about
the detractors. Focus on improving
your writing.

Solution : Look at your own writing.
Have you forgotten the littlepeople?
Why not write a story about a waitress
who loses her job because the entire
staff has been replaced by robots? Or
the high school teacher trying to
prevent her students from cheating now
that everyone has neural implants. Stop
picturing your book being turned into a
Michael Bay film.
5. TOO CEREBRAL, THEY SAY.
NOT
ENOUGH
ACTION.
Remember what I said about morality
plays? The same rule applies. Your book
is not supposed to be a church sermon.
You have to entertain the audience.

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Original Article on M Joseph Murphy’s Blog